New Generation Plantations platform

The New Generation Plantations (NGP) platform works toward a vision of forest plantations that contribute positively to the welfare of local communities and do not replace natural forests or other important ecosystems.

WWF manages the NGP platform with participation from forest companies and governments around the world.

The platform is a place to share ideas and learn about better plantation forestry practices through real-world examples.

Participants commit to implementing good forest plantation methods on their own plantations. Through various events and study tours, NGP also seeks to influence other companies and governments to make environmentally and socially responsible decisions on plantation management.

Why is WWF working with tree plantations?

First – bad plantation management still exists. Plantations have been established in place of natural forests and other important ecosystems. The rights and interests of local communities are not always respected. WWF wants to change this.

Second – well-managed plantations can help lessen the pressure to harvest the world’s remaining natural forests by providing timber, paper and fuelwood.

In the last 50 years, our demands on natural resources have doubled. If we carry on with “business as usual” we’ll need the equivalent of two planets to meet our demands by 2030.

As the world’s population grows, our forests will have to produce more fibre for timber, paper and fuel, unless consumption patterns change dramatically. Overall wood use may triple in the next three decades. At the same time, increasing competition for land for food, bioenergy crops and livestock is putting our natural forests under increasing pressure.

Well-managed plantations can be a part of the solution.

Plantations produce more wood on less land than natural forests. Currently, plantation forestry accounts for 7% of total forest cover, but provides about 60% of wood used by the forest industry (FAO).

To help saving our remaining natural forests, WWF wants to see:

Forestry and processing practices that produce more with less

Less and wiser consumption by the rich (WWF’s Living Forests Report 2011).

To meet expected future demand for wood without logging natural forests, we’d need to nearly double the tree plantation area by 2050. This would mean 250 million hectares of new tree plantations.

Through NGP, WWF is working to make sure these plantations work in harmony with people and nature.